Brazil’s economic scenario was already dire, even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country. Any expectations of recovery have firmly been put on hold for the time being. Countries around the world, even those with more robust economies than Brazil’s, are now discussing how to strengthen welfare measures to protect groups who have been hit the hardest by the crisis. As Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil will have to be asking the same questions.
In November 2019, Brazil reformed its pension system, seeking to ward off a potential default on public accounts for the next few years. But with the...